Your heart, my smile
by sweetcheesecake
Summary: One shot Sasusaku: I want to give you everything, dear, everything I possess. Even though I can offer nothing at all, please, won't you say yes?


To cry does not mean you're weak, so please; don't smile when you're sad. Your eyes water and your lips tremble, and I feel my own heart crack.

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**my heart, your smile **

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"Sakura, please," he said quietly. He feared if he spoke any louder, his voice would break.

"Go away, Sasuke."

He frowns, detecting the soft waver in her voice. Is she…crying?

"What's wrong?" he asks, bewildered at her strange behavior.

He grabs her small shoulders that are slumped over, firmly, gently, trying to catch her eye but she looks down. She will not look at him.

"Sakura, please, I'm sorry for what—"

"Sasuke," she said softly. Her hand came up and fluttered hesitantly over his arm before she lay it down lightly, lovingly on his bicep. "You've done nothing wrong."

"Then why—"

"Sasuke," she says again, her hand dropping limply from his.

He waits, growing more confused. She does not speak and his grip on her tightens. He grows more furious by the second. His eyes bleed red.

"Sasuke," her voice is so sad, he feels his own heart breaking.

"Why?" he demands. He was determined not to let her go.

"Because…"

_I love you_

He stared down at her pink hair and he could feel her shoulders trembling from where he held them.

"Because…"

Then he felt her shoulders set themselves stiff and he was startled when she lifted her head to look into his dark red eyes. Her green eyes were vibrant, they were _clear_, her contained tears disappearing.

She gave him an achingly sweet smile. She reached up her right hand and cupped his cheek tenderly.

I will not hurt you. I cannot hurt you, she chanted.

"Because I love you."

Her words were simple and they were delivered with such raw emotion he could not doubt her, but it only confused him more.

"Please don't forget that I love you."

She wrapped her arms slowly around him, hugging him tightly to her own body and he constricted his arms around her, caging her fragile body in.

As soon as she feels his arms tightening, she loosens her arms and let go. He does the same, so confused.

She remains looking up at his sharigan eyes and her eyes seem to become sadder and she touches his cheek lightly, skimming her fingertips. His eyes slip shut against his own will.

"I want to see your eyes, Sasuke."

His red eyes flicker open, her request odd.

She smiles gingerly at him.

"Sasuke, I want to see _your_ eyes."

He closes them again and when he opens them, they are a rich shade of deep onyx. She stares at them for a while and then sighs softly. The image of bright, emerald eyes burn into him.

Then, her eyes slip shut slowly and she smiles again, sadly. He starts to think he's hating that smile, that haunting, beautiful smile.

When she opens them, it seems she has reached her decision.

"Sasuke-kun. Do you love me?" she asked.

His eyes widen and he is speechless. Before he can speak, she goes on.

"If Sasuke-kun loves me, he will let me go." She says the words slowly. Painfully.

"If you love me, you will let me go," she says again.

Her eyes search his. "Don't you love me, Sasuke-kun?" she asks tearfully.

He is still shocked by her request.

And he is frozen as she slips out of his limp hold and walks quietly away, disappearing in a flurry of white cherry blossoms.

_I love you I love you I love you_

Amidst the soft _shhh _of the petals, he heard a light _plink plink_.

He stared down numbly.

Is that my heart breaking?

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I want to give you everything, anything in the world, and you ask me of this. How can I possibly say no? How can I possibly say yes?

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_If you love me, you will let me go._

_If you love me, you will let me go._

_If you love me…_

_If you love me…_

_Love me…_

Uchiha Sasuke had not known he was capable of crying. Ever since the massacre, he had refused to show weakness, refused to show his pain, his tears.

Yet now, he was weeping over a woman. A very beautiful, loving, kind woman. Who had somehow succeeded in breaking his heart.

Sasuke was so sure that he could be happy once again. He had defeated Itachi, and now he was the only surviving Uchiha come home to take his princess.

She had waited for him. He had been such a jerk to her, caring more about revenge, obsessed over killing a man, obsessed with rebuilding his clan. But…she had grown strong for him, waited for him, _loved _for him. She had blossomed into such a beautiful flower. Sasuke never would have known he would have loved a woman as much as he loved _her._

They had been so happy together for the past 2 years and he loved her to the point that he wanted to live with her together, forever. To have onyx eyed and green eyed children of his own that were strong and healthy and could carry on the Uchiha name.

He had asked her to marry him.

Her reaction was priceless, her mouth suspended open, her face such a cute picture of disbelief before it transformed into pure radiant happiness before something clouded her eyes.

He had seen her love, witnessed her willingness, but he could still not believe what she had said.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke."

"I can't."

And she had ran from him, like she does all the time. It annoyed him greatly.

He had never thought it would happen, but today he was proved wrong.

Haruno Sakura had defeated him.

He was broken.

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_I'm so sorry, Sasuke._

_I love you dearly._

_Please don't forget._

_I love you._

_I love you. I love you. I love you._

_I love…_

Sasuke-kun.

Forever only you. Everything I do is for you.

She cried. She had promised herself that she would not cry, but she was weak, as was expected. Her fist hit the wall with a dull thud.

She wanted him to let her go, but at the same time, she wanted him to come chasing after her.

Sasuke-kun…don't you love me at all?

Eventually her eyes hardened and she entered her apartment. She did not see what things she was packing or what she was wearing or how she was feeling. Her hands moved automatically, her mind numb.

When she had finished, she looked around, satisfied. Something caught her eye.

Nestled under her pillow, a small box heart was half hidden there. Her eyes softened and tears came to her eyes. It was a music box that played Swan Lake. Sasuke had given it to her on her birthday and she had listened to it every night before she went to sleep. It was such a melancholy melody that was both beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time.

She debated whether she should bring it along or not.

She took out the music box, opening the heart lid, listening to the music, reliving happy and sad memories.

She had planned this months ahead. Every since she had found out from Tsunade, she was planning. She has to protect her precious people; she has to do what is best for her precious people, she has to for…

Sasuke-kun…

She made her decision, said her farewells, and stepped out the door.

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Before you had opened the door of my impenetrable heart, my heart had been cold and unfeeling. Now my heart is finally warm, and now you decide to leave me?

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**18 months later**

Naruto stared silently at his dark-haired friend, his whiskered face unusually down.

"Eh…Sasuke-teme, you sure you want to go through with this?"

Sasuke pierced him through with a deadly glare. "Dobe," he deadpanned.

Naruto did not rise to the bait which made Sasuke frown. Naruto was being really serious.

"It's just…it seems so not real. Don't you think…" Naruto trailed off, not wanting to mention painful memories.

"I love her, Naruto," Sasuke said, and winced. Even to him, it sounded false.

But it's not, he argued. I really do love her. Maybe not as much as…_her. _

But I still love her, he thought.

Naruto sighed. "Fine."

After a few moments of silence, Sasuke noticed Naruto still had not touched his ramen. Which was, _very _unusual. He shrugged. Naruto would tell him when he felt like he needed to.

Naruto finally spoke again. "Sasuke…did she ever tell you why she left?"

Sasuke sighed. "Naruto, you've asked me this a hundred times. Yes, yes, she said she…" Sasuke clenched his fists. "She said…she loved me," he spat out.

"Yes, yes, I know that. But did she tell you...the meaning behind that?"

Sasuke did not speak.

"Sasuke…Sakura never wanted me to tell you this, but" Naruto stopped seeing how the word had affected his friend.

Sasuke's hands were gripping the counter tightly, his knuckles turning white. But Naruto did not want to relent. He would tell Sasuke what he needed to know.

"Sakura…she told me once…"

_Flashback_

"_Naruto…"_

_Naruto smiled brightly up at her where he was lying down in the grass. "Yes, Sakura-chan?"_

_Sakura smiled down at him but her face fell slightly when she thought about what she was going to say. Naruto frowned. "Ne, Sakura-chan. What is it?" He stood up and took her shoulders gently._

_Sakura looked up at him. "Naruto. You love Hinata-chan, right?"_

_Naruto smiled fondly. "Yes, with all my heart. B-but I still love you as a sister, Sakura-chan! You'll always have a place in my heart!"_

_Sakura grinned at him. "Ne, Naruto. Do you think Sasuke has a place in his heart for me?"_

_Naruto stared at her before exploding, "Of course, Sakura-chan! What would make you doubt that?!!"_

_Sakura calmed him down and said, "Naruto, would he still love me, all of me, even if I am weak, and incapable of doing certain things?"_

_Naruto nodded furiously, speaking up for his friend. He knew how much Sasuke cared for the pink haired girl._

_She did not seem reassured, in fact, what he had said made her more uncomfortable._

"_I love him, Naruto. I love him so much. I want to give him everything he wants, but…I don't think I can."_

"_Naruto, I love him with all my heart, and-and…all I want is for him to be happy."_

"_Yeah Sakura, sure you do, what are you getting at?"_

"_Naruto…say…say you think Hinata would be happier with someone else. Would you let her go?"_

_Naruto eyes widened. "HUH? SHE LIKES SOMEONE ELSE?!"_

_Sakura quickly drove to fix it. "NO, no, Naruto. I'm just saying figuratively. If…if she could ever be happier with someone else, if someone else could give her more than you could ever give her…not that I'm saying you can't."_

_Naruto nodded._

"_Would you let her go, Naruto?"_

_Naruto's jaw clenched. That…was a very hard question. But he pushed that aside._

"_Sakura, what are you talking about? Are you saying…you want to give Sasuke-teme up?" he asked incredulously.  
_

_Sakura bonked him on the head. "Don't call him that!"_

_After a moment's pause, "No, no! Of course I don't want to give Sasuke-kun up. He's…he's my love…my heart…"_

_Naruto thought for a moment. "But you think you cannot give him something he truly wants."_

_Sakura nodded sadly. "Not just what he wants. What I want him to have. What I have always wanted to have. And now I find I can not have that for myself."_

_She paused then sighed. "I don't want to be a burden to him."_

_End Flashback_

Sasuke's jaw clenched. "You've decided to tell me this why?" he said in a cold voice.

Naruto sighed. "Well, you're not being fair to Sakura. Do you realize what she did for you? What she—"

"What she _did _for me?! Naruto, SHE BROKE MY HEART," Sasuke shouted.

Naruto stared open-mouthed. Sasuke-teme never shouts.

Sasuke stood up abruptly and left the ramen stand. Naruto scrambled to go after him, his ramen forgotten. After a few steps, he had caught up.

"Sasuke-teme. Just hear me out, okay? Just answer me this."

"What are you going to do after you marry Hana?"

Sasuke did not answer, his jaw clamped tightly shut, his expression murderous, his whole body stiff as a board.

"Hmm…teme, what are your plans? You gonna settle down? Buy a new house, have _kids?_"

Sasuke kept walking.

"You ready to restart the Uchiha clan? With Hana?"

Sasuke halted. "What is your problem, dobe," he said in a deadly voice.

"My problem. Hah, this is funny. You ask me what _my_ problem is? Did you ever think to ask of what _Sakura's_ problem was? _WHY_, exactly she left?"

Naruto plowed straight on, not leaving Sasuke any chance to answer. "You were always the asshole, Sasuke." Naruto yelled, his voice furious now. "Before you left, you knocked Sakura out and left her on a cold bench. Hah, she's kind not to do the same to you before she left."

Sasuke flinched.

"Oh, and WHY did you leave? To kill '_a certain man'_ and to avenge your stupid clan!"

Sasuke flared up, furious. "What the hell, dobe, leave that out of this!"

"NO, bastard, THIS is exactly why Sakura left! Because you were so frickin obsessed with your clan! 'I must kill Itachi, REBUILD MY CLAN.' And what were we to you?! Things you could throw carelessly away?!"

"I changed after that, Naruto!"

"Maybe you did! But what you did then was enough! She saw how important having family was to you! She saw how sad you were that you didn't have a family anymore! You were always for rebuilding your clan. She _hurt_ for you and she wanted to give you a _family_ more than anything!"

"THEN WHY DIDN'T SHE?" Sasuke screamed, hurt and more confused than ever.

Naruto looked as if he was going to answer but then he shut his mouth. "Teme, Sakura may have had a stupid reason to leave, but she thought it would make you happiest. At least she did it for you. You left us for revenge," Naruto accused.

"She thought I'd be happy without her?!"

"Well, you're marrying Hana, aren't you?"

Sasuke turned away. "Dobe, if you thought this was going to change my mind, your still a dobe," he said quietly.

Naruto shook his head silently, then reached into his pocket and took something out and shoved it at Sasuke. Sasuke turned to him questioningly.

He stilled when he recognized what it was. The key to her apartment.

In a drunken fit of rage, he had thrown away everything that was hers, intending to forget her. He had regretted it the next morning but could not bring himself to look at the things he had broken and thrown away.

Naruto had seen the key and kept it.

"Maybe…Sakura was wrong to have left you. But she did it because she loved you. She didn't, she never understood how much you love her…loved her. You…you never gave her a chance, you just let her go…"

Sasuke flinched. "She…wanted me to let her go."

"Sasuke. Just take it. She left something there for you. She figured you would go in someday."

Sasuke stared at the key, afraid to take it. He was afraid of the apartment, so much of Sakura. He reached for it and then pulled his hand back.

"I've already made my decision, Naruto. What do you want me to do? Even if I do understand why she left, she's not coming back! She left me, she's the one who wanted to go. What difference does it make? All this time, she hasn't written to us or visited. What does that tell you? It'll only make this more painful."

Naruto shook his head. "She never wanted to leave." Naruto slung an arm over his eyes and inhaled deeply.

"Just take it, Sasuke. If you really think you're going to marry Hana, then fine. Throw it away. I'm not going to try anymore. This is how she wanted it to be anyway."

Naruto threw the key at him and Sasuke caught it automatically.

He looked down at it and marveled at the smoothness of the key, the familiarity of it. Memories crowded his mind at once. When he looked up, Naruto was already gone.

-

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Hana glanced worriedly over at her fiancé. He seemed to have a lot on his mind. She hesitantly tugged at his shirt sleeve.

Sasuke looked down at her, brows furrowing together. "Hana?"

"Sasuke…are you okay?"

Sasuke nodded. "I'm fine." He went back to writing the invitations.

After a moment's silence, Hana spoke again. "Sasuke…" she said, not looking at him. "Um…do you think we should invite Sakura-san?" she asked hesitantly.

Sasuke stiffened for a moment and then carried on with his work. "That won't be necessary."

Hana frowned. Sasuke's friends were not very fond of her even though they tried very hard to be nice. She had a feeling it had to do with the mysterious girl who no one liked to talk about. Maybe if she insisted on inviting her, his friends would feel a little bit less animosity towards her.

"Sasuke, don't you think you should invite your best friend? She's…important to you, is she not?"

His eyes hardened.

_I love you_

_I love you_

_I love_

"Very well, you can invite her." Naruto probably already wrote to her about the news anyways.

Hana sighed. Sasuke was acting so distant lately.

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Sasuke had left the key in his room in his top drawer of his cabinet. He had not touched it since. He would not let her ruin this. Today is his wedding day.

On the podium, his eyes had betrayed him and wandered through the crowd, searching for bright pink hair. He did not find any and could not tell if he was disappointed or not.

His eyes snapped back to attention when he saw the bride come through. He almost expected to see green eyes looking back at him in happiness. But what he saw were chocolate brown orbs holding his as Hana made her way down the aisle.

Time seemed to move to fast. The next second, she was already here, in front of him.

He could barely manage a smile.

Hana's eyes looked at him in concern and he mentally berated himself. Focus. You're marrying Hana.

The audience was silent. Many had been reluctant to come but Naruto was a supporting friend and had convinced them to follow through with his request even though he was against it himself.

Ino had even wanted to stand and object when Kakashi had asked for any objections but Naruto had pulled her down irritably.

Sasuke smiled to himself. Naruto truly was a loyal friend.

He was momentarily distracted when he saw an anbu appear and whisper into the Hokage's ear at the back. Naruto was standing next to her and they both left in a hurry.

Loyal friend my ass. He wasn't even going to stay to watch him get married.

Sasuke shrugged to himself. He needed to focus.

Hana eventually said her vows and Kakashi turned to Sasuke.

It was now his turn.

Kakashi did not look at Sasuke. "Please, repeat after me," he said in a bored tone. "Before God and these witnesses, I, Uchiha Sasuke,"

"Before God and these witnesses, I, Uchiha Sasuke," said Sasuke in a low voice.

"…take you, Hana, to be my wife," Kakashi's monotone.

"…take you, Sakura, to be my wife," said Sasuke.

The crowd gasped. Hana stared wide-eyed at him. Sasuke looked around confused. He glared at Kakashi. "Hurry up," he muttered under his breath.

Kakashi's eye crinkled. "Uchiha Sasuke, I do believe you replaced Hana's name with Sakura's name in the wedding vows," he said in a loud booming voice.

While Sasuke was stunned into speechlessness, Kakashi turned to Hana. "Do you, Hana, still desire to take this man, Uchiha Sasuke, as your lawfully wedded husband?"

The attention was focused on Hana. Hana was staring at Sasuke. Finally, her eyes started to tear up and she quickly turned tail and fled the podium. The crowd would have cheered if his expression had not been so sad.

Sasuke was still for a second and then he hurried after her.

"Wait, Hana!"

He would have kept chasing after her if he had not been snagged in the arm by Naruto.

He whirled on him, surprised. Hadn't he left? "Dobe, wh—"

"Sakura's here," Naruto said softly.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Don't lie to me, she wasn't in the cr—"

"It isn't good, Sasuke."

Sasuke's heart stopped. "What?"

"Sasuke, I'm just letting you know. She…she didn't look too good, Baa-chan said she's in a coma…" he said, his voice dying.

Sasuke's voice suddenly felt very dry and his skin felt extremely clammy. Wasn't this supposed to happen _before_ the wedding, he thought.

Naruto looked at his friend's still form and felt a surge of pity for him. But he was extremely worried about his pink haired friend too, so her hurried.

"I'm going to go see Tsunade and check up on Sakura's condition. I just wanted to tell you," Naruto repeated. "Just in case…things turn out for the worse," he explained, his voice cracking.

Then Naruto quickly teleported away leaving Sasuke standing there in stunned silence.

Sakura…

You're back on my wedding day.

Isn't this so ironic.

Somehow, Sasuke found himself back at his home, his hand on the cabinet top drawer. He looked down. The key was there, and he did not think he could go to the hospital.

The way to be closest to her…

He grabbed the key and made the short trek to her apartment. When he inserted the key and turned the lock, he could hear and feel the rusty creaking of the gears spin.

He compared them to his heart.

_If you love me, you will let me go_

"UNH!" Sasuke grunted and slammed his hand against the door. He rested his head on his arm and then gathered himself together. He pushed.

The door opened with a soft creaking and Sasuke stepped in.

He looked around. Everything was the way he had remembered it but dust bunnies were taking over and he could see spiders.

He made his way through the apartment, finally stepping into her bedroom. He winced. It was very _pink_ and it reminded him painfully of her. He stopped, his heart jumping up his throat when the music box caught his eye.

_She didn't take it with her_

And with that thought accompanied a small pang of heartache to the dark haired boy.

After warring with his emotions, Sasuke took quick steps to the music box on top of her bed. He picked it up. He took a deep breath and then slowly opened the lid. Music started to play before he had even completely opened it and it startled him. His hands fumbled uncharacteristically and the music box tumbled to the ground.

Sasuke gave a soft cry of surprise and bent down immediately. To his horror, he discovered the lid had been broken off. He picked up the two separate piece but a piece of paper fell from the box.

Sasuke regarded it and then stooped again to pick that up also.

He unfolded it and discovered it was a letter.

_Sasuke-kun,_

_I'm so sorry I left. How can I explain?_

_Only that I love you. I love you so so much._

_Can you believe me?_

_I guess not._

_Sasuke-kun, you are so special to me. I just want you to be happy._

_And I wish with all my heart to be with you. To marry you._

_I wonder, would you forgive me if I came back?_

_Sasuke-kun, do you still love me?_

_It doesn't matter. Just please don't forget I love you. I'll always, always love you._

_With all my love, _

_Sakura_

And the music continued to play softly in the background.

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Please take care of your happiness dear, because you know, your smile is my heart. For when your smile is broken and sad, I feel it break apart.

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He found himself outside the main hospital doors.

_Sasuke-kun, do you still love me?_

His heart was beating so fast, he had not experienced it for so long.

_Sakura_

He entered. As he walked to the main office, he swallowed profusely, trying to get his throat to work.

"Sir, who are you looking for?"

"Sir? Sir?"

Sasuke swallowed again. "Sa…Sa…"

He couldn't spit her name out. He closed his eyes and took a big breath. "Haruno Sakura's room please." His voice stronger now.

At that moment, Naruto had turned the corner and seen Sasuke. "Sasuke!" he called.

Sasuke turned and saw him there and made his way over. What he saw on Naruto's face did not make him feel any better.

Naruto managed to crack a small smile. "Eh, I knew you would come, Sasuke-teme."

Sasuke kept looking at him and Naruto sighed. "You can't see her right now; baa-chan's still working on her. She can't be bothered."

But Naruto led him up to her room. Sasuke stayed standing and Naruto put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Sasuke, I'm going to go and tell Ino and Kakashi." Naruto made to leave but Sasuke turned and caught Naruto's arm.

Naruto looked at him questioningly. Sasuke was looking down, his hair covering his eyes.

"Naruto…tell me why Sakura left."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Er…Sasuke. I don't think—"

"I need to know this, Naruto. I need to know _why_."

Naruto sighed. "Sasuke, she doesn't want you to know. Think of how she'll feel."

"Think of how _I _feel."

Naruto finally relented with an another sigh. "Sasuke…remember that one day when I told you about how much she wanted to be a family with you?"

Sasuke looked up and nodded, dropping Naruto's arm.

"And you asked me, why didn't she?"

Sasuke nodded, remembering.

"Well, she couldn't."

Sasuke stilled. "What?" he hissed after a moment of silence.

Naruto closed his eyes and shook his head. "She was infertile, Sasuke."

Sasuke processed that for a moment and then became furious. "She thought … rebuilding my clan was more important to me than _her_?"

"That is so ridiculous! I can't believe she thought that! She's such a fool! That's why she left?! Because she couldn't give me…" he flinched "…Uchiha babies?"

Naruto looked at him. "That's it, man."

Sasuke exploded. "After all that time we spent together, she still knows nothing about me?! I can't believe she believed I was capable of that!"

"Maybe she was right to have left me!"

Naruto punched him.

Sasuke's head jerked sharply, his hair hanging over his eyes, covering them. Naruto stood there heaving, his breaths coming unevenly.

"Sakura knew you loved her. That's why she believed you would let her go. For her happiness. Man, even if you don't think having Uchiha babies is that important, how do you think she felt?!"

"Sasuke, she's never going to be a mother, do you understand? This is the one thing she's wanted for so long? For your love, to build a family together with you. Family is so important to you…and her…she…even if you hadn't wanted it…"

"She couldn't bear to show you another weakness…and she wanted so much…to give you children…she…loved you so much…she…"

Naruto stopped, unable to go on, tears hazing his vision.

Finally he took a deep breath and his tone was resigned. "Whatever, man. You wanted me to tell you. I'm going now."

And Naruto left him standing there to think about what he had just said.

Sasuke sat down in one of the waiting chairs.

_Sasuke, I want to see your eyes._

Would our children have had green or onyx eyes?

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Please take care of your happiness, dear, for I want to see my love in your eyes, my heart in your smile.

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Ino and Kakashi had arrived back with Naruto. Ino was crying softly and Kakashi's face was grim. He nodded silently to Sasuke. "Nice wedding."

Sasuke did not comment.

After they had spent half an hour in silence, Tsunade came out of the room, her eyes tired but her expression triumphant.

They all sighed in relief, Sasuke included, when Tsunade confirmed that Sakura was all right.

"You can go in now. She's awake," she said.

But none of them stood to go. Ino finally got up and walked over to Sasuke's still form. She kicked his foot with hers. Sasuke looked up in indignant surprise.

"Go see her, Sasuke."

Sasuke remained staring at her until Ino started fidgeting uncomfortably. Finally, Tsunade stepped in. "Sasuke, go see her."

He pierced her with a glare.

"She wants to see you."

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. Ino pushed him impatiently out of his chair. "Hurry up!"

Poked at and irritated, he finally walked up to the doors. Before he went inside, Naruto pierced him through with a question.

"Do you still love her, Sasuke?"

Sasuke stilled for a moment and thought.

_I love you so so much_

_Please don't forget that I love you_

He closed his eyes, her words hurting him. And then, when they opened, they were clear.

I love her, he thought with surprise. But is it enough, he wondered.

With a deep breath, he walked inside, the rest watching him with trepidation.

He saw her immediately, her small frame propped up by mounds of soft pillows. Her pale pink hair had grown longer and her skin was so much paler. But her eyes were happy and her soft smile had him crying inside.

He almost walked back out.

She called his name. "Sasuke-kun!"

Her voice was tired but her tone was excited and happy. "Sasuke-kun?" she called again, this time more hesitantly when he did not respond.

Her eyes tilted oddly and then so did her lips. She made to get out of the bed but as soon as Sasuke saw her start to move, he quickly came to her side and held her down, surprising her.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"You're injured, don't move," he said automatically, his voice distant and cold.

She frowned and then shifted up to hug him. He was too stunned to push him away.

"Sasuke-kun, I've missed you so much. Did you miss me?" she asked.

He was frozen, his arms limp and unable to wrap around her and he was mute. He couldn't find words to speak. He felt her shoulders slump against his before she slowly let him go.

She looked up at him with sad sad eyes. "Ne, I probably shouldn't be calling you that now, should I?" she said, realizing what must have happened.

"You are now someone else's Sasuke-kun, ne?" she said sadly, searching his eyes.

He quickly looked away. She seemed to take that as an answer and her arms dropped down limply. "Sasuke-ku—, Sasuke, are you happy?" she asked tenderly.

_Are you happy?_

_Am I happy?_

Something was pushing painfully at his heart. And he realizes, I cannot live without her.

"No," he finally said.

_I cannot be happy without you_

Sakura looked at him, concerned. "Sasuke, what's wrong? Why aren't you happy?"

He looked at her solemnly. "Because you left me."

Sakura tore her gaze away from him. "You haven't forgiven me, have you?" she asked softly, her voice laced with pain.

"No," he said, his voice cutting her with his iciness.

He forced himself to look at her and his heart stuttered wildly when his onyx eyes met her green ones. They were duller than he remembered. But they were filled with the same amount of love the last time he had seen him and it made his heart beat painfully.

He wanted to hurt her like she hurt him.

She forced a smile on her face and he confirmed that he hated that smile. It tore his heart apart.

"It doesn't matter."

_It doesn't matter_

"As long as you are happy, I'll be fine." She said, her voice tranquil and quiet.

His face twisted with pain. "I'll be happy when I marry her," he said mercilessly.

He did not know how much more his heart could take, and neither could she.

She nodded slowly, not looking at him. "I'm sorry, for coming today."

His hands clenched and then relaxed. "I'm not."

Her gaze landed on him hopefully. "I want you to be there when I get married."

Her face fell a little and she nodded again.

_Because I want to marry __**you**__._

Sasuke shook his head, closing his eyes. When he reopened them, he took her chin and forced her to look up at his dark eyes.

"Sakura," he said for the first time, calling her by name. She gasped softly. She tried to jerk out of his hold, but he held on to her tightly.

"Sakura, do you love me?" he said, repeating her words.

Her eyes started to cry and she stared at him. "How could you forget, Sasuke-kun? I love you with all my heart!"

His heart pounded hard but this time he found it not so unpleasant. His hand released her face and he turned away.

"I know why you left me, Sakura," he said. She gasped.

"And I think it was a stupid reason," he said coldly, she, not detecting the waver in his voice.

"Do you have any idea how much you hurt me?" he asked. Sakura shook her head tearfully. "I'm sorry, Sasuke."

He was still for a moment and then thought, I must be an idiot for what I'm about to do. Either that, or I love the feeling of heartbreak.

"I have to go and find Hana," he said quietly.

Sakura's heart fell and her hands felt cold and limp. She nodded though.

Anything for Sasuke-kun. This is what you wanted.

He turned to her "I have to go find her and tell her I'm sorry,"

She can feel her heart break

"…because I won't be marrying her."

Sakura looked up in blatant disbelief.

Stop, stop it now if you don't want to get hurt, Sasuke mentally berated himself, but he could not stop.

He loved the girl here with all his heart and he could not let her go. He took her limp hand and it disappeared in his two larger, stronger hands.

He looked at her with loving, onyx eyes.

"Sakura, do you love me?" he asked again. She nodded. "With all my heart, Sasuke-kun," she said, unable to believe the turn of events.

Stop it, stop it, stop it. Don't hurt me, don't hurt me, don't hurt me.

Their fragile hearts could not take another blow.

"Sakura, I can never be happy without you."

She can't speak.

"Sakura, if you love me, please don't go."

He can't breathe.

"Sakura, I love _you_ with all my heart."

And they both listen to the painful, slow beating of their rusting, creaking hearts.

_Sakura, Sakura, Sakura?_

He waited there for the final sure blow that would throw him into heartbrokenness.

Sakura gave up.

"Sasuke, if you love me, don't let me go."

And both their hearts swelled and burst with love. They cannot breathe, they cannot speak, but they both understand the unspoken yes.

Finally.

_I love you_

-

-

-

"I want to give you everything," I say, everything I possess. Though you know I can offer you nothing at all, you lovingly still say, "Yes."


End file.
